Strange Understanding
by ShadowJackal
Summary: Sometimes we receive comfort from the most unexpected of places...


Disclaimer: Do not, and will never own Teen Titans. Curse you, copyrights...

AN: Hey, it's me. I know that most of you are probably annoyed that I deleted my previous story, **_Mirrored Shadows_**, but I realised there was no possible way I could make the story work unless both characters became extremely OOC (If they weren't already...) and no one likes that. So I decided to write this small one-shot until my skills improve. And yes, this is rated M for references to...untasteful subjects, as it were.

She couldn't believe it had come to this.

After all these years of being teammates, battling supervillains, and putting up with his lame jokes, it had all come down to that one night.

The night he violated her and stole what innocence she had left.

It hadn't been **_him _**specifically, more like his beast. The creature who had fought Adonis in order to save her. How ironic that he had now fufilled what Robin accused him of that night.

Gods, she felt so sick. First Trigon had raped Arella, and now she had been raped by her green-skinned teammate. It just added to what she already knew: There was no justice. Not on this planet, nor any other.****

She had tried so hard to fight back, hitting him with everything she had, but it still wasn't enough. And Raven knew why. She had been afraid, and that fear had rendered her powers little more than useless.

Worst of all: Beast Boy and herself had been the only ones there, so no one had been around to hear her screams as he took her violently.

The next morning, he doesn't seem to remember a thing, and Raven knows she can never tell him, or anyone else of what occured.

Weeks pass, and a sickening revelation is revealed to the sorceress. She is with child. Beast Boy's child. A bastard, just like her. Was this how her mother felt, knowing she carried the child of a demon? It didn't matter. All she knows is, like her mother, she cannot will herself to get rid of it.

The Titans are oblivious, too busy with preparations for her 20th birthday, making it four years since the vision of Earth's doom had begun, and she had defeated her all-powerful father.

Thoughts of that vision led her to thoughts of the Titans' most powerful enemy.

_Slade. _

It was so strange, after all this time to think of the one who had delivered said vision. Her father's messenger boy. Must have been a pain in the ass for him to be forced into subservience. Not that she cared. The more pain he suffered, the better.

Right now, she just needed to be alone. But she would never get such a chance, not now anyways.

It is late, and most of the Titans are asleep, passed out from exhaustion or too much alcohol. Only Raven keeps a silent vigil, staring out across the bay separating them from the rest of the city. She hadn't gone near any of the intoxicating beverages, for both moral and health-related reasons, nor had she partied herself into oblivion. There was nothing to celebrate.

Without thought, she mutely opened a portal, answering to a feeling that told her she needed to be somewhere else.

Barely a second later, she's there. The tower where the world's ending had been prophesied.

And Raven knows she's being watched, even before someone's gloved hand gently lays itself over her barely pregnant stomach. The other entangles itself in her violet strands, slightly massaging her scalp. "Why are you here?" She grounds out in a monotone.

"As I've said before, Robin and I are so _very much alike_." His reply comes, and the hand on her womb begins slow, circling motions. She can feel the unborn child respond to him, and knows that no further explanation is needed. Somehow, he must have been able to retain some remnant of the mental link they shared during her father's attempt at 'persuasion'.

A few minutes pass, and she relaxes, giving herself to this strange embrace. He was so...caring? Gentle? She can't explain it right now. All she knows is that this is _Slade_, without any emotional masks, sinister plans or scathing remarks that he reserved for her and her fellow Titans. He has offered her a night of peace, without separations of good and evil, hero and villain. And for the most fleeting of moments, she wishes that _he_ were the father, instead of the creature who had stolen what was most precious to her. These are the last thoughts she experiences before falling asleep in the enemy's arms.

The next morning, she awakes back in her room. But Raven only gives the slightest hint of a smile and gets up to make her usual cup of herbal tea.

More time passes, and her pregnant belly begins to swell with the fullness of life. It is only too obvious that her teammates are curious about the father. Nightwing especially seemed to be throwing questioning looks her way. But she can never tell them. And she never will, not even when the child arrives. Let them make their own assumptions.

Months pass, and she gives birth to a girl with white hair and eyes with a shade to rival the most beautiful amethyst. It had been a trying labour, but now the others had retreated, to give her some time with the infant.

Raven hasn't decided what to name her yet, but it doesn't matter. As a pair of black-and-silver-clad arms surround her and the babe in a gentle embrace, she knows her child will always be protected. That's good enough.

AN: Phew! Done, finally. For those of you who need an explanation, I see Raven's powers being in the 'If you wish it, so it shall be' category. Not to mention that demonic power can be unpredictable at times. And yes, I know Slade wouldn't normally act like this, but cut me some slack okay? Every character needs to be a little bit flexible, and at least I didn't have him declare his undying devotion to her. From what I've read, Slade _was_ a good guy before the military experiments. Let me know what you think!


End file.
